Antawn Jamison has knee contusion

Wizards forward Antawn Jamison has been diagnosed with a right knee contusion after an MRI today revealed no other damage. No timetable has been set for his return, but Jamison is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Jamison left last night’s preseason game at Dallas at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter and did not return.

InsideHoops.com editor says: It’s great news for the Wizards that the injury is minor, especially with word about to come out that Brendan Haywood needs wrist surgery. Wizards star Gilbert Arenas is already out until maybe January, or later, leaving Jamison and small forward Caron Butler to once again carry the team for a long stretch of time.

Lakers waive Dwayne Mitchell

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived free agent guard Dwayne Mitchell, it was announced Wednesday.

Mitchell, a 6’5” 220-pound guard out of Louisiana Lafayette, was a member of the Lakers 2008 Summer-Pro League team in Las Vegas, where he averaged 6.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15.0 minutes over six games.

The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 18.

There are going to be a ton of fringe players cut by NBA teams over the next week or so. Almost all of them have tiny, nonguaranteed contracts that basically only exist for training camp purposes.

Cavs release Michael Dickerson

The Cleveland Cavaliers have granted a release to guard Michael Dickerson. Dickerson was excused from camp on October 1st in order to attend to a personal matter and has not been able to return. He was unable to pursue his return to the NBA at this time, while addressing the personal matter, but expects to still pursue a return to the league in the future.

InsideHoops.com editor says: That was quite a comeback.

Cavs release Lance Allred

The Cavaliers released center Lance Allred Wednesday. Allred joined the Cavaliers with a 10-day contract on March 13th of 2008 and then signed another 10-day contract on March 25th. He was signed for the remainder of the season on April 4th and opened camp with the Cavaliers for the 2008-09 season on September 30th. Allred played in the Cavaliers game last night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland vs. the Toronto Raptors and saw 4:10 of action with one rebound and one blocked shot.

Hanno Mottola of Finland retires

Fiba.com reports: Finland coach Henrik Dettmann has heaped praise on Hanno Möttölä following the big man’s decision to retire as a basketball player at the age of 32. Möttölä made the surprise announcement after helping the Finns preserve their EuroBasket Division A status with a fourth-place finish in Group A in this summer’s qualifying campaign for next year’s Final Round in Poland… Möttölä was the first-ever Finn to reach the NBA and he was also the first from his country in the Euroleague, not to mention the first Finland player to compete in that competition’s Final Four.

Ricky Rubio has right wrist surgery

Fiba.com reports: Spain’s DKV Joventut star Ricky Rubio will miss the first several games of his team’s Euroleague and ACB campaigns after having surgery on his right wrist. The point guard got hurt during the gold medal game at the Olympics on August 24 when the United States beat Spain and he suffered a recurrence of the injury in the pre-season.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Rubio is expected to be one of the top picks in whatever NBA draft he declares eligibility in. He’ll quite possibly go first overall, but he’s not an absolute lock to do that.

JR Giddens tattoos have meaning

The Boston Herald (Mark Murphy) reports: J.R. Giddens is a man of many tattoos, but each, he says, have a purpose. A basketball encircled by a Black Mamba snake is tattooed over the Celtics rookie’s heart with the inscription, “Natural Born Killer” – an apparent reference to his playing style. But his newest – a green shamrock with the No. 4 behind his left ear – may also be one of his most dear. “I was the last pick of the first round,” he said. “Everyone had a chance to get me and they passed, and this is the team that took me. So I wanted to honor it.” Of his body art philosophy, Giddens said, “Some guys have tattoos all over that don’t mean anything. Mine all mean something.”

Oct 7: Raptors 104, Cavs 84

The AP reports: LeBron James played just 8 minutes in the first quarter before he raised his hand for a substitute and coach Mike Brown pulled his superstar for the remainder of Cleveland’s preseason debut… Toronto’s Jermaine O’Neal, acquired from Indiana in a July trade, scored 11 points in his Raptors debut. O’Neal missed 40 games last season because of lingering knee problems and dropped weight over the summer to ease the pressure on his joints. Will Solomon scored 17 points, Andrea Bargnani 15 and Kris Humphries 14 for the Raptors, who didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in the first half but dropped six from long range after halftime… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 points and Williams, acquired in an August trade from Milwaukee, added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds in 26 minutes.

Oct 7: Rockets 96, Grizzlies 93

The AP reports: Ron Artest gave Houston fans an early glimpse of what he brings to the team. Artest scored 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter of his Rockets debut, and Houston beat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-93 on Tuesday night in its preseason opener… Tracy McGrady sat out to rest his sore left knee… Carl Landry, Yao’s backup, had 18 points and nine rebounds… Rudy Gay scored 14 for the Grizzlies and had a pair of highlight-reel dunks in the fourth quarter. Hakim Warrick led Memphis with 15, including a dunk that tied it at 92.